Some towns still walk the line

Friday

Apr 26, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Most towns break this law, but not Auburn — at least this year. Town historian Kenneth R. Ethier and Selectman Stephen R. Simonian officially perambulated the town's borders the past two months, driving when they could and walking 30 miles through woods, cemeteries and snowbanks.

By Ellie Oleson CORRESPONDENT

Most towns break this law, but not Auburn — at least this year.

Town historian Kenneth R. Ethier and Selectman Stephen R. Simonian officially perambulated the town's borders the past two months, driving when they could and walking 30 miles through woods, cemeteries and snowbanks.

Mr. Simonian said, “It was fun. No one yelled at us, no dog bit us, and people were very interested in what we were doing.”

State law requires that two selectmen or their designees find and mark each town's boundary stones once every five years. Most towns do not comply with the state law.

In February, Auburn selectmen voted to have Mr. Simonian and Mr. Ethier take on the task.

Though they could not find two boundary markers between Auburn and Oxford, it appears that Auburn's other town lines are intact, Mr. Ethier said.

They found the 14th and final marker at the edge of a yard at 15 Hawthorne St. on the Millbury-Auburn line on Wednesday.

There, the two Auburn perambulators were joined by Brian M. Ashmankas, a Millbury selectman.

Mr. Ashmankas said it would be appropriate to perambulate his town's borders as part of Millbury's 200th anniversary celebration this year, and asked Mr. Simonian and Mr. Ethier to come to today's selectmen's meeting in his town.

“Maybe someone from the Bicentennial Committee could join me to do this,” Mr. Ashmankas said.

The Millbury side of the Hawthorne Street marker was marked with the dates of 1955 and 1985, apparently the last times that town perambulated its borders. The Auburn side was clearly marked in 1950 and 1975.

Mr. Ethier said several markers showed that 1975 was the last time Auburn selectmen perambulated the town line.

At that time, Selectmen Joseph P. Shannon, Alex M. Pappas, Marjorie E. O'Neil, John A. Dvareckas and Henry J. Camosse reported that “the once-in-five-years perambulation of the town bounds was carried out with representatives of adjoining communities: Millbury, Leicester, Oxford and Worcester.”

Selectmen also reported that year that they had come to an agreement with Millbury selectmen “to relocate a stone boundary marking the line between the two towns, since it was found to be some 200 feet from the true line during the survey for revaluation.”

Mr. Shannon, who now lives in Shrewsbury, said, “There was no dispute. We just moved the marker.”

Sometimes there are disputes.

In 1986, the Brundage family in Uxbridge suddenly found themselves receiving tax bills from Douglas, though pre-1864 maps showed their four-acre house lot to be in Uxbridge.

In 1987, the state Legislature approved a bill making Charles, Mary and Mark Brundage residents of Uxbridge for as long as they lived in their border home.

Jean M. O'Reilly, chairman of the Oxford Historical Commission, said markers in her town may have changed drastically over the years.

“Oxford was originally twice the size it is now,” she said.

In the early 19th century, portions of the town became sections of Charlton, Webster, Dudley, Auburn, Sutton, Leicester, Millbury and Douglas.

“People in Oxford might have woken up one morning and found themselves in a different town. A lot of that was politically driven in those days, when the communities were being established,” Ms. O'Reilly said.

She wondered if any local markers might have been installed before the change.

Judith A. Lochner, Geographic Information Systems analyst in Oxford, said Oxford's last perambulation was in 1986. She is planning to mark the town's borders this spring, “before the leaves are out,” with Ms. O'Reilly, Selectman Dennis E. Lamarche and Sean M. Divoll, director of the Department of Public Works.

“Oxford has 26 corners, including a lot of zigzags with Millbury. It should be interesting,” Ms. Lochner said.

Each of the granite markers is approximately 6 inches square and about three feet above the ground. Each town is designated by its first initial on one side of each marker. A hole drilled down the center of each stone allows surveyors to place a rod inside for measurements.

Mr. Ethier said the two of Auburn's 16 markers that could not be found are supposed to be on South Street at Oxford's Millbury Road, and Oxford Street South at Oxford's Old Worcester Road.

“They may have been stolen or might have been accidentally taken out by a snowplow or by a bulldozer during construction, or maybe we just didn't find them,” he said.

Two of Auburn's markers were clearly engraved with an old “W” and a newer “A” on the Auburn side, not because that was part of Worcester, Mr. Ethier said.

Auburn was known as Ward, named after Revolutionary War Major General Artemus Ward, from 1778 to 1837. Because of confusion with Ware, the U. S. Post Office asked that the town change its name, and Auburn was born in 1837, Mr. Ethier said.

Some residents who had boundary markers on their property were surprised by their significance.

“One family had created a garden around the stone, and had a plant on top of it,” Mr. Ethier said.

Boundary markers have held special significance for thousands of years.

In ancient Rome, each Feb. 23 worshippers walked the boundary of their community as part of Terminalia, the celebration of Terminus, the god of boundary markers.

The earliest British perambulations were done by priests who “beat the bounds,” that is walked the boundary of their parishes, each spring on Ascension Day to bless the land, pray for bountiful crops and officially set the boundaries of their church community.

The first recorded government perambulation was during the reign of King Henry III in England, when the boundaries set by the Forest Law were carefully marked each year. Commoners were severely punished if they trespassed onto royal land set aside for hunting and enjoyment only by aristocrats.

An act of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1651 required that all towns perambulate their boundaries every three years, to avoid border conflicts.

By 1785, state law required that boundary markers be checked every five years. “Selectmen who shall neglect their duty shall severally forfeit and pay five pounds,” with a third of the fine to be shared among fellow selectmen who did comply with the law and the remaining two-thirds to go to selectmen in contiguous towns.

In 1926, state law required “permanent boundary markers made of stone” at least four feet tall be placed “at each and every angle” of all town boundaries.

“Before that, markers could be 6-foot trenches or a pile of stones,” Mr. Ethier said.

Selectmen were also responsible for putting up guideposts for travelers. Board members who did not comply could be fined 20 shillings.

In New England, only Massachusetts and New Hampshire still require perambulation. In Massachusetts, the boundary walk is to be done every five years; in New Hampshire it is every seven years.

Until 2003, Maine communities were required by state law to perambulate their boundaries every five years, but now, Maine and Vermont only require perambulation of state boundaries every seven years, with no requirement for local community boundaries.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation handles that state's “state line perambulation survey,” last done in 1997 and accepted by the governments of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York. That survey is supposed to be done every 10 years.